{"id":842,"date":"2017-01-23T12:20:14","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T19:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/?p=842"},"modified":"2017-01-23T12:20:14","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T19:20:14","slug":"fear-math-holding-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/fear-math-holding-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Fear of Math Holding You Back?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people avoid Six Sigma because they think it involves a lot of math and statistics. You know, formulas<\/em>. I don\u2019t think you need any formulas. You don\u2019t need to be a statistician. You just need software that went to college and knows the formulas.<\/p>\n

In The Math Gene<\/em>, Author Keith Devlin explores \u201cwhy so many people find mathematics impossibly hard.\u201d He says: mathematics is the science of patterns<\/em>. Isn\u2019t that what we\u2019re trying to do in Six Sigma, separate the wheat from the chaff, separate the signal from the noise and detect the underlying patterns of performance?<\/p>\n

Devlin also differentiates between arithmetic and mathematics. He argues that our brains aren\u2019t well designed for arithmetic, but we are all good a math. My wife, for example, is dyslexic when it comes to numbers. Give her a phone number and she will often transpose numbers (arithmetic). But she can write software that involves algorithms (math).<\/p>\n

Devlin also says that mathematics help make the invisible, visible.<\/em> Again, isn\u2019t that what we\u2019re trying to do with Six Sigma? That\u2019s why I always talk about the invisible low hanging fruit<\/em>. You can\u2019t see it, but it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n

Devlin\u2019s metaphor of math is interesting; it\u2019s construction: \u201cLearning new mathematics is like constructing a mental house in my mind. Understanding new mathematics is like exploring the interior of the house. Working a math problem is like rearranging the furniture. Thinking mathematics is like living in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devlin lists the following mental attributes as key to mathematical ability:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A number sense (1, 2, 3)<\/li>\n
  2. Numerical ability<\/li>\n
  3. Algorithmic ability<\/li>\n
  4. Abstraction<\/li>\n
  5. Cause and effect (e.g., root cause analysis)<\/li>\n
  6. The ability to construct<\/em> and follow a causal chain of facts or events (e.g., an improvement project)<\/li>\n
  7. Logical reasoning ability<\/li>\n
  8. Relational reasoning ability<\/li>\n
  9. Spatial reasoning ability (e.g., spaghetti diagram)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Notice, he never says formulas<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    Implications for Six Sigma<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In Six Sigma, we can let QI Macros calculate the formulas and give us control charts, Pareto charts and histograms that show the underlying patterns of performance<\/em>. Then we can do some root cause analysis to find and fix those performance problems.<\/p>\n

    I realize that most Six Sigma books and courses are filled with formulas and manual calculations, but all that does is traumatize students and waste time. You don\u2019t need to know formulas to do Six Sigma<\/em>, but you do need to understand the patterns revealed in the charts.<\/p>\n

    Why do Six Sigma books and course insist that everyone learn the formulas behind the charts and statistics? Here\u2019s my short answers: Because it fills up the curriculum (I get paid more if I teach longer). Because that\u2019s how I learned it (I went through this hell; so should you). Because you need it to get by (no you don\u2019t).<\/p>\n

    I want to make Six Sigma edible by the masses. Devlin says: \u201cWhat a few individuals may be trained to do doesn\u2019t matter. Only what an entire species does easily, naturally and by inclination is significant.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Stop worrying about formulas. Start drawing control charts, Pareto charts and histograms that illustrate the underlying patterns of performance. Then start moving those charts in the right direction\u2014fewer defects and less variation. That\u2019s all you need to know to succeed a Six Sigma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Many people avoid Six Sigma because they think it involves a lot of math and statistics. You know, formulas. I don’t think you need any formulas. You don’t need to be a statistician. You just need software that went to college and knows the formulas. In The Math Gene, Author Keith Devlin explores “why so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[161,168,170,219],"class_list":["post-842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-qi-macros","category-six-sigma","tag-fear-of-math","tag-qi-macros","tag-six-sigma","tag-the-math-gene"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=842"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":843,"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842\/revisions\/843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qimacros.com\/lean-six-sigma-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}